Pretty unusual for us to get any westbounds on the CN in the evening around the house. Lucky for us this Arthur empty ethanol train rolls across the hogbacks west of Independence in decent evening... (more)

CN came up with an old odd ball leader for an empty Alden, IA, bound grain empty. The CN 5317 stood proud today leading a couple NS units on a nice sunny Saturday. Here the train took a small paus... (more)

There was quite a buzz in Iowa the mid of March 2022. This old veteran SD40 lead 2 mainline trains in and out of Iowa. The 1st train was this an empty grain to Alden, IA. The next day M338 would b... (more)

In a very unusual circumstance, the CN ran 2 test trains across the Dubuque Sub on 5-16. The CN received an FRA geo train from the CP at Dubuque over the weekend, and the CN twice annual geo train... (more)

Some what odd ball helper for an Alliance Z6 is this SD70MAC. The train has just departed Fort Madison after a crew change and skirts the banks of the Mississippi River as they make their way towa... (more)

The city, IDOT, the FRA, and Amtrak all have chipped in restore service the old 111 year old ex-ATSF depot at Fort Madison. The station is now the regular stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Its be... (more)

The area around Fort Madison offers alot of neat things to shoot from the ground and air. The Chillicothe Sub takes off from the BNSF depot and runs along the Mississippi River for a few miles bef... (more)

On a rainy day in July 1981, Union Pacific EMD GP40X Nos. 9000 and 9001 sit at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Easily seen in this photo, flared radiators are distinctive feature of the GP40X. Experimental ... (more)

A pair of GE's leads BNSF's Galesburg to Des Moines manifest as it cruises past the station sign at Sheahan, Iowa on the Des Moines Sub. With a short train in tow, the train easily makes track spe... (more)

With an especially dirty CP AC4400 on the point, a southbound oil train makes its way into the yard in Ottumwa, Iowa where it will take the siding for a crew change and locomotive fueling. The tra... (more)

A BNSF Chicago to Kansas City intermodal train cruises along the banks of the Mississippi River in Fort Madison, Iowa shortly after crossing the river from Illinois. In the background is the bridg... (more)

Iowa Railroad GE U28B 22 sits at the roads yard In Council Bluffs Iowa on a nice day in June 1984

Running outside its typical time, the only intermodal train across the Ottumwa Subdivision heads west through Chillicothe, Iowa and splits a pair of coal trains at CP 288.8. On the left, E CLOBTM0... (more)

About 7:30am on a cold Super Bowl Sunday morning, a westbound U705 broke a couple rails east and west of Jesup on the CN Dubuque Sub. The signal maintainer came out and found a couple 2 inch break... (more)

A pair of Dakota and Iowa units work the south end of the small yard at Hawarden.